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What is cervical cancer?

Cervical cancer occurs when abnormal cells on the cervix grow out of control. The cervix is the lower part of the uterus that opens into the vagina. Cervical cancer can often be cured when it’s found early. It is usually found at a very early stage through a Pap test.

What causes cervical cancer?

Most cervical cancer is caused by a virus called human papillomavirus, or HPV. You get HPV by having sex with someone who has it. There are many types of the HPV virus. Not all types of HPV cause cervical cancer. Some of them cause genital warts, but other types may not cause any symptoms.

You can have HPV for years and not know it. It stays in your body and can lead to cervical cancer years after you were infected. This is why it is important for you to have regular Pap tests. A Pap test can find changes in cervical cells before they turn into cancer. If you treat these cell changes, you may prevent cervical cancer.

What are the symptoms?

Abnormal cervical cell changes rarely cause symptoms. But you may have symptoms if those cell changes grow into cervical cancer. Symptoms of cervical cancer may include:

• Bleeding from the vagina that is not normal, or a change in your menstrual cycle that you can’t explain.
• Bleeding when something comes in contact with your cervix, such as during sex or when you put in a diaphragm.
• Pain during sex.
• Vaginal discharge that is tinged with blood.

How is cervical cancer diagnosed?

As part of your regular pelvic exam, you should have a Pap test. During a Pap test the doctor scrapes a small sample of cells from the surface of the cervix to look for cell changes. If a Pap test shows abnormal cell changes, your doctor may do other tests to look for precancerous or cancer cells on your cervix.

Your doctor may also do a Pap test and take a sample of tissue (biopsy) if you have symptoms of cervical cancer, such as bleeding after sex.

How is it treated?

Cervical cancer that is caught early can usually be cured. If the cancer is caught very early, you still may be able to have children after treatment.

The treatment for most stages of cervical cancer removes the cancer and makes you unable to have children. These treatments include:

• A hysterectomy and removal of pelvic lymph nodes with or without removal of both ovaries and fallopian tubes.
• Radiation therapy.
• Chemotherapy.

Depending on how much the cancer has grown, you may have one or more treatments. And you may have a combination of treatments.

It’s common to feel scared, sad, or angry after finding out that you have cervical cancer. Talking to others who have had the disease may help you feel better. Ask your doctor about support groups in your area. You can also find people online who will share their experiences with you.

Can cervical cancer be prevented?

The Pap test is the best way to find cervical cell changes that can lead to cervical cancer. Regular Pap tests almost always show these cell changes before they turn into cancer. It is important to follow up with your doctor after any abnormal Pap test result to treat abnormal cell changes. This may help prevent cervical cancer.

A new vaccine called Gardasil protects against four types of HPV, which together cause most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts. You get three shots over 6 months. The vaccine is recommended for girls 11 to 12 years old. It is also recommended for females 13 to 26 years old who did not get the vaccine when they were younger.

The virus that causes cervical cancer is spread through sexual contact. The best way to avoid getting a sexually transmitted disease is to not have sex. If you do have sex, practice safer sex, such as using condoms and limiting the number of sex partners you have.

Is this topic for you?

This topic provides information about breast cancer that has spread or come back after treatment. If you are looking for information about first-time diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

What are metastatic and recurrent breast cancer?

Breast cancer occurs when abnormal cells grow out of control in one or both breasts. Treatment often cures breast cancer if it is found before it has spread.

But even after treatment that seemed to work, cancer can come back (recur) or spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. Cancer that comes back in or near the original site is called locally recurrent breast cancer. Cancer that spreads to other parts of the body is called metastatic breast cancer.

For most women who have had breast cancer, their greatest fear is that the cancer will come back or spread. Finding out this has happened can turn your world upside down. But there is hope. Treatment can often cure recurrent breast cancer. Although metastatic breast cancer usually cannot be cured, treatment can help you manage the disease and live longer. Some women live for many years, managing their cancer like a long-term health problem.

Why does breast cancer come back after treatment?

Even with the best treatment, cancer can come back. If just a small cluster of cancer cells remains in your body, those cells can spread through the blood or lymph system and grow. This may happen from a few months to many years after the first diagnosis.

If your breast cancer has come back, you may be tempted to second-guess your previous treatment choices. But the fact is, there is no guarantee with any treatment.

The treatment decisions you and your doctor made in the past were the right ones at that time. But now it is time to make new decisions and explore other treatment options.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms depend on where the cancer is and how large it is. The most common places for breast cancer to spread are within the breast or to the nearby chest wall or to the liver, lungs, or bones. Common symptoms include a lump in your breast or on your chest wall, bone pain, or shortness of breath.

You may not have any symptoms. Sometimes recurrent or metastatic breast cancer is found with an X-ray or lab test.

How is it treated?

To plan your treatment, your doctor will consider where the cancer is and what type of treatment you had in the past. Your wishes and quality of life are also important factors. Treatment choices may include surgery, medicines like chemotherapy or hormone therapy, and radiation. Sometimes a mix of these treatments is used.

Treatments for breast cancer can cause side effects. Your doctor can tell you what problems to expect and help you find ways to manage them.

Clinical trials to test new cancer treatments are going on all the time. Ask your doctor if it would be a good idea to take part in one of these studies.

If treatments have not worked, a time may come when your goal shifts from curing the disease to staying as comfortable as you can. Palliative care can provide symptom relief and support for you and your loved ones so you can make the most of the time you have left.

How can you handle your feelings about having breast cancer again?

It is common to have a wide range of emotions. It may be hard to stay hopeful when you are fighting cancer for the second or third time. These ideas may help.

• Get the support you need. Spend time with people who care about you, and let them help you. Talk to your hospital social worker if you need help with bills or other worries. Your local American Cancer Society may also be helpful.
• Take good care of yourself. Get plenty of rest. Eat healthy meals. Get regular exercise. Try meditation or guided imagery to help you relax. These steps can help you feel as well and stay as healthy as you can.
• Talk about your feelings. Find a support group. Talking with other people who have breast cancer can be a big help. Sharing your experience can help others too.
• Do everything you can to stay positive. Set a goal each day to do something special for yourself or someone else.

If your emotions are too much to handle, be sure to tell your doctor. You may be able to get counseling or other types of help.

You may want to think about planning for the future. A living will lets doctors know what type of life-support measures you want if your health gets much worse. You can also choose a health care agent to make decisions in case you are not able to. It can be comforting to know that you will get the type of care you want.

What is bladder cancer?

Cancer is the growth of abnormal cells in the body. These extra cells grow together and form masses, called tumors. In bladder cancer, these growths happen in the bladder.

The bladder is the part of your urinary tract that stores your urine until you are ready to let it out.

Bladder cancer can usually be cured if it is found and treated early. And most bladder cancer is found early.

What causes bladder cancer?

We don’t know what causes bladder cancer. But we do know that smokers are much more likely to get it than nonsmokers. In fact, experts believe that smoking causes about half of bladder cancer in men and more than one-fourth of bladder cancer in women.

What are the symptoms?

Blood in the urine is the main symptom. Other symptoms may include having to urinate often or feeling pain when you urinate.

These symptoms can be caused by other problems, including a urinary tract infection. Always call your doctor if you see blood in your urine.

How is bladder cancer diagnosed?

To diagnose bladder cancer, your doctor will:

• Ask about your medical history and do a physical exam, including a vaginal or rectal exam.
• Test your urine to look for blood or abnormal cells.
• Do a cystoscopy, a test that lets your doctor look into your bladder with a thin, lighted viewing tool. Small tissue samples (biopsies) are taken and looked at under a microscope to find out if there are cancer cells.

How is it treated?

Treatment choices for bladder cancer include surgery to remove the cancer, anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapy), medicines that help your immune system (biological therapy), and radiation.

The treatment depends a lot on how much the cancer has grown. Most bladder cancers are treated without having to remove the bladder.

Sometimes doctors do have to remove the bladder. For some people, this means having urine flow into a bag outside of the body. But in many cases, doctors can make a new bladder—using other body tissue—that works very much like the old one.

Bladder cancer often comes back. The new tumors can often be treated easily if they are caught early. So it’s very important to have regular checkups after your treatment is done.

It’s common to feel scared, sad, or angry after finding out that you have bladder cancer. Talking to others who have had the disease may help you feel better. Ask your doctor about support groups in your area. You can also find people online who will share their experiences with you.

What increases your chances of getting bladder cancer?

Anything that increases your chances of getting a disease is called a risk factor. The main risk factor for bladder cancer is smoking. Cigarette smokers are much more likely than other people to get bladder cancer.

Other risk factors include:

• Being older than 40.
• Being male. Men are 4 times more likely than women to get bladder cancer.
• Being exposed to cancer-causing chemicals, such as those used in the wood, rubber, and textile industries.